Which are the best cities/regions of the world for Lego?

[MarioDAlessio]

I am interested on thoughts of what you consider to be the best/most friendly cities/regions for AFOL in the countries you live in and why in terms to access and purchasing Lego/AFOL communities or other factor you may consider important.

For example I would imagine that cities in England, California, Germany and Denmark near to Legoland theme parks might rate pretty high.

For example in Australia there are no official retail Lego Stores/Legolands, retail Lego is via major retail chains and the internet so that all the state capitals and large metropolitan areas are pretty consistent in terms of purchasing Lego.

I’m not involved in any local user group or have ever attended a convention etc, so the tipping point for me in Australia would be the location of the two LEGO Education Centres so that even though I live in the most populous city in Australia I would rate Brisbane and Melbourne as better AFOL friendly cities.

Mario

[miniflea84]

Denmark? Dunno really, but the DC metro area (where I live) is a pretty good place for AFOLs. Not one but two Lego stores, plus an annual convention, all of which are less than a half hour's drive away.

Chicago also has more than one Lego store if I'm not mistaken.

[The Blue Knight]

I live an hour from Portland, OR. We have a Lego store, the southern half of the very first AFOL club, ever. We have the third BrickFest coming to town next March, and BrickCon 3 hours up the road in Seattle. The GPLR (Greater Portland Lego Railroaders) is an active and supportive club with members who work for Lego, have helped design sets, are (or have been) ambassadors and are just great guys who can really build brother!

On top of that we have mountains, ocean beaches, deserts, tundra and rainforests all within a few hours drive. The Willamette Valley is the Eden at the end of the Oregon Trail, and those of us who are fortunate enough to live here count ourselves as blessed to live in this wonderland.

So it's a great place in general, and in Lego specific. But don't move here! Too crowded already

[Athos]

San Francisco bay area wouldn't be too bad either. They've got two Lego stores and a Lego club.

Sacramento should be getting better with the opening of the new store. For such a large area, it didn't seem to have much of an AFOL community though...

Steve

[Gumby]

I live an hour from Portland, OR. We have a Lego store, the southern half of the very first AFOL club, ever. We have the third BrickFest coming to town next March, and BrickCon 3 hours up the road in Seattle. The GPLR (Greater Portland Lego Railroaders) is an active and supportive club with members who work for Lego, have helped design sets, are (or have been) ambassadors and are just great guys who can really build brother!

One thing you forgot to mention is the fact that Oregon has no tax. That's why I got my UCS Millenium Falcon from your store (and I'm from Canada!).

[Peppermint Pig]

Vermont (Burlington Region)

This location is encompassed by NELUG, with members scattered across several states, so the chance for regular meet-ups seems unlikely. NELUG does however conduct annual shows at various locations, typically in eastern Vermont.

I personally do not know of, nor have I ever met a NELUG member in the area.

Non-NELUG AFOL's do exist in the area, while the majority appear to run their own stores.

NEW/USED NOT ABUSED
Roaglaans Customs
Thumbruisers Unlimited
LibertyLUG Store

There are no less than four Classic Castle members in the Burlington Vermont area alone, including Roaglaan, Odysseus (here for college), Stone Goblin, and myself, Peppermint_Pig.

There's nothing special about stores in the area. There is a Toys R Us, Several Vermont Toy & Hobby stores, a Walmart, K B Toy & Hobby, and a handful of other stores which sell Lego. Pricing is typical. Selection is usually good, though.

In Vermont, Lego is not only abundant but affordable in the used market and at garage sales. Competition is minor, relatively speaking. XD

The nearest Lego store is 3 hours away in Burlington, Massachusetts, which is unfortunate due to their high taxes.

There are worse places you could live than Burlington, VT for a Lego fan.

[Garbageman13]

I visit the one in Orlando, Florida every now and then. It's got (Supposidly) the world's largest PaB wall. And it's (Supposidly again) the USA's largest shop or something.

It's got some nice creations, PaB wall, Build-A-Mini, and some building areas and stuff. Never look at the building area that much, since I'm always busy stuffing my PaB.

[Teherean]

For me it'd be Zwolle, because of the anual Legoworld (A)FOL gathering there. it is amazing. Otherwise I would pick Oberhausen in Germany, because that, for me, is the closest I get to a LEGO brand store.

[BreadMan]

San Francisco bay area wouldn't be too bad either. They've got two Lego stores and a Lego club.

It's allright. BayLUG is mostly older AFOLs and kids from the South Bay and really isn't that strong of a club compared to, say, SCLTC. The AFOL presence in The City proper is surprisingly lacking, as far as I know I'm the only actively online San Francisco AFOL, but there's a few others in nearby North Bay cities that have recently been trying to get something together.

[davee123]

Vermont (Burlington Region)

This location is encompassed by NELUG, with members scattered across several states, so the chance for regular meet-ups seems unlikely.

I believe we (NELUG) have a scant few Vermont members, but the amount of Vermont AFOLs has generally discouraged having meetings up in that area. NELUG did do a general "LEGO" show in... 2006 and 2007 (I think?) in Middlebury, VT. That's about 45 minutes or so from Burlington, and probably the biggest presence we've had in Vermont.

I personally do not know of, nor have I ever met a NELUG member in the area.

We've got at least one pretty active member in that general vicinity, though I'll refrain from handing out contact info publicly.

Otherwise, the Boston area is pretty good for LEGO people. Arguably one of the best locations. We've got 3 stores within 40 minutes of Boston, in Burlington, Natick, and now Braintree. NELUG has regular (monthly) meetings, and generally does 2-4 "events" per year, not including things like BrikWars games.

The other draw for Boston is of course its proximity to Enfield, CT, where LEGO's North American headquarters is. Boston's about 2.5 hours or so from Enfield, and Enfield in itself isn't anything special to outsiders. There aren't any tours, and nothing's really open to the public. However, it HAS given those of us in NELUG ample opportunities to be "in" with the company. There have been occasional perks (ranging from unbelievably fantastic to just nice), and been invited to the grounds on many occasions. Some of our members even got the opportunity to work for LEGO temporarily (sorting brick!).

In terms of rank, I'd probably say the *best* location would be Denmark, obviously, since they've got both LEGO's worldwide headquarters AND a theme park. After that, the cities with theme parks are probably next, like Munich/Gunzberg, London/Windsor and San Diego/Carlsbad.

I'd argue that Boston's probably the 5th best or so locale for Lego enthusiasts, as its proximity to Enfield pushes it over the other contenders, given that it's got 3 Lego stores (Burlington, MA being the most productive Lego store in the country), and a pretty active AFOL community.

The other contenders on par with Boston would probably be Minneapolis, MN (the Lego store in the Mall of America is supposedly really cool), Orlando, FL (with the Imagination Center), and the Washington DC area (with on of the two Lego *outlet* store locations in the US). I know DC is pretty active AFOL-wise, but I'm not sure about Minneapolis or Orlando.

The Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles areas all are pretty ripe with Lego stores (each with 3, I think), and (I think) have pretty active AFOL communities.

Anyway, I think that probably covers what I'd guess are the "top 11" best Lego locales, in my opinion. Arguably, "anywhere near Germany" is pretty high on the list, since they get some really neat inside deals with Lego via 1000steine (or, I think they used to, anyway), and have a pretty good dispersement of Lego stores.

DaveE

[natelite]

best is nyc. you have toyfair early feb every year. you have the biggest toy store in the world. and just about every major retailer is within easy reach across the river in jersey city. not to mention access to the cheapest lego sets in the world and shipping charge. and one of the closest city to the lego support center in conneticut so you get your replacement parts pronto.

[jedimasterwagner]

thought i'd chip in for southern california. You've got at least 2 LEGO stores within an hour of each other, plus LEGOLAND hooray! as far as LEGO groups to meet with or LEGO conventions there's not much that I'm aware of...

[DaleDVM]

I will not say it is the best, but this is what Chicago has going for it.

3 lego stores, including the busiest lego store in the USA in Schaumburg. (a Chicago suburb)
Brickworld which is now the largest convention in the United States.
The recently opened Legoland Discovery Center which is the first one in the USA, also in Schaumburg.
The president elect Barrack Obama.
Hopefully the 2016 Olympic Games.
These have nothing to do with Lego, but the timing is great for the thread!

The Northern Illinois Train club is very active and has a huge display they travel with. There are a few other train groups nearby. I am not a big train guy so I am not sure of all the facts on those.

Unfortunately I haven't met many castle people from the Chicago area yet. But, I am trying to change that. If any of you are in the Chicago area give me a shout out. I am only one year out of my dark age but I am thinking of starting a general LUG for the Chicago area, since others deal mostly with train layouts.

[g2]

For example in Australia there are no official retail Lego Stores/Legolands, retail Lego is via major retail chains and the internet so that all the state capitals and large metropolitan areas are pretty consistent in terms of purchasing Lego.

I would have to agree with you on that one. I would love to see a Pick-a-Brick store in Australia.

I’m not involved in any local user group or have ever attended a convention ...

I would like to say that joining local user group would definitely help with your Lego hobby. We guys in Melbourne regularly run meetings (about once a month) and we have a fairly active Yahoo Group. This helps with the isolation of living away from Lego related stores.

I would rate Brisbane and Melbourne as better AFOL friendly cities.

I can not speak for Brisbane (maybe DARKspawn can say something about it), but Melbourne is very AFOL friendly. Maybe you can come down for Brickvention, which we are running in January.For more information check out the Brickvention Website